NATIONAL FORUM OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION AND SUPERVISION JOURNAL

VOLUME 25, NUMBER 3, 2008-2009

BEYOND THE FIRST DAYS OF

SCHOOL: THE RECRUITMENT,
RETENTION, AND DEVELOPMENT OF
QUALITY TEACHERS IN
HARD-TO-STAFF SCHOOLS:
A NATIONAL FOCUS

Misti M. Morgan
Houston Independent School District
Houston, Texas

William Allan Kritsonis

Prairie View A & M University
ABSTRACT

A shortage of quality teachers in high-risk urban schools has compelled school leaders to
examine innovative methods of recruiting and retaining new teachers to hard-to-staff
campuses. Principals must work aggressively to attract new teachers to their campuses
by forming university partnerships for early recruitment, and initiating on the job
training for new recruits as early as the previous school year. Early immersion in the
school environment is key to a smooth transition. Additionally, principals must allocate
the necessary fiscal resources to the task of retaining new teachers, particularly in
mentorship and professional development. Hard-to-staff campuses must invest in a full-
time teacher mentor as well as retired teachers to provide intense mentorship and
relevant professional training. Principals must also integrate other critical components
to building teacher quality and commitment, such as on-site certification preparation,
graduated retention bonuses, and most importantly, weekly formal and informal
interactions between the principal and new teachers. The development of new teachers
in hard-to-staff schools should be of the highest priority for principals, as stability is key
to long-term school improvement. The commitment to this initiative must not only be
evident in a principal’s agenda and campus improvement goals, but the campus
expenditures as well.

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Introduction

A s a national sense of urgency builds towards greater student

preparedness and achievement in public schools, the need for
the recruitment and retention of quality teachers has reached a
fevered pitch. Urban, suburban, and even rural districts are marketing
themselves to prospective teachers in the hopes of luring promising
educators into their districts and keeping them there. Yet as effective
as teacher recruitment efforts may be in individual districts, the
teacher turnover statistic remains alarmingly high. Nationwide, annual
teacher attrition (turnover) costs have risen to a staggering 7 billion
dollars (NEA, 2007). Even more troubling are the statistics or numbers
of teachers leaving hard-to-staff schools; recent numbers indicate that
an average of 50% of teachers transfer, resign, or retire from high-risk
schools within the first five years of employment (NEA, 2007). When
comparing schools nationwide, teacher turnover is 50 percent higher in
high-poverty than in low-poverty schools (Darling-Hammond, 2005).
It is a sobering reality that teacher turnover is greatest in the most
academically challenged environments.

Purpose of the Article

The purpose of this article is to make recommendations for three

critical questions regarding teacher recruitment, retention, and
development in hard-to-staff schools:

1) How do hard-to-staff schools aggressively recruit teachers for

their campuses?
2) What steps should principals take to develop new teachers
once they become a part of their faculty?
3) What activities should principals engage in to secure a
teacher’s long-term commitment to the school?

Throughout this article, the term hard-to-staff applies to schools with

the following characteristics:
 Misti M. Morgan & William A. Kritsonis 53

• Large percentage of socioeconomically disadvantaged

students
• Difficult teaching environment
• Undesirable school location
• Low academic achievement of student population
(Allen, 1999)

The term ‘teachers’ will refer to teachers new to any given hard-to-
staff campus, regardless of their previous professional experience.

Teacher Recruitment – Before the First Days (of School)

Principals in hard-to-staff schools can take a proactive

approach to staffing by implementing the following techniques:

University Partnerships

Whenever possible, principals in hard-to-staff schools should

solicit the cooperation of local colleges and universities to engage in
early on-campus recruitment of prospective teachers. Many college
graduates remain undecided on their career path as late as graduation
day; a proactive approach to recruitment may sway a potential
employee.

Pre-Service Preparation

In partnering with local colleges and universities, hard-to-staff

schools must make the case to the universities to expose pre-service
teachers to not only the high-performing, exemplary schools, but to
low socioeconomic schools as well. Too often, college graduates
become disenchanted with the public school system when their first
teaching assignment bears no resemblance to their student teaching
experience. New teachers need a more accurate depiction of hard-to-
staff schools, so they will know the challenges that await them (and be
willing to face them anyway).
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Job Shadowing

When a principal’s recruitment efforts net potential employees,

he or she should move quickly to immerse the new teacher in the life
of the campus. Principals in hard-to-staff schools should create job
shadowing or apprenticeship opportunities for new employees even
before they sign their contracts. The sooner the employee becomes
involved, the faster he or she will develop a sense of commitment to
the campus.

Early Contract Signing

It is no longer reasonable to expect new teachers to grasp all

the inner workings of a campus during the two weeks just prior to the
start of school. Rather, new teacher contracts should begin as early as
the first of June to ensure that time is allotted for pertinent trainings,
job acclimation, and preparation. An earlier start would mean fewer
overwhelmed teachers on the first days of school.

Celebrations

New teachers should always be given a great amount of fanfare

upon their arrival to a campus. Celebrations that allow new faculty
members to meet returning teachers should be initiated at the
beginning of the school year and continued on a frequently recurring
basis.
The First Days of School
You’ve got the teachers…now what will you do with them?

Mentor

While most new teachers are given mentors upon their arrival,
the mentor is almost always another teacher with a full course load and
additional duties (since most teacher leaders tend to be involved in a
 Misti M. Morgan & William A. Kritsonis 55

plethora of activities). This arrangement leaves little time for true

collaboration, and often leaves a new teacher to fend for his or herself.
To depart from such scenarios, hard-to-staff schools must either
allocate (or be subsidized by the school district) funds to hire a full-
time teacher mentor. The teacher mentor would be primarily
responsible for professional development, cognitive coaching, and
coordination of mentor-mentee partnerships.

The use of retired teachers as one-to-one mentors will provide

new teachers with the assistance they need and the personalization that
conventional mentorship does not afford. Retired teachers would serve
as mentors in the classroom, acting in a coaching and co teaching
capacity. Feedback would be instant, giving the new teacher a support
system for growth and development. In addition, new teachers should
initially have a reduced course load for preparation and observation of
best practices in peer classrooms. A number of studies have found that
well-designed mentoring programs raise retention rates for new
teachers by improving their attitudes, feelings of efficacy, and
instructional skills (Darling-Hammond, 2003). Recent studies have
found that 30 or more states have some form of mandated mentoring
program (Texas is not one of the states). Merely requiring this
mentoring, however, does not assure that programs are comprehensive
and effective, or that funding is secure (American Association of State
Colleges and Universities, 2006). Therefore, it is incumbent upon
principals to creatively fund this critical initiative rather than
overburdening existing staff, as the importance of developing new
teachers cannot be overstated.

Professional Development

The importance of relevant professional development and

training opportunities to the survival of the new teacher cannot be
negated. Training must be early, engaging, regularly repeated, and
monitored for implementation. Critical topics for professional
development in a hard-to-staff school would include:
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• Understanding the culture of poverty (and its implications on

teaching and learning)
• Discipline management (hard-to-staff campuses should
develop a school wide model for implementation)
• Inclusion strategies for special populations (Special Education
and English Language Learners)
• Curriculum Implementation
• Assessment and Data Analysis
• Examining Student Work
• Motivation and Creating Opportunities for Student Success
• Documentation
• Campus policies and procedures

Weekly Debriefing with the Campus Principal

The campus principal must take a hands-on approach to

teacher mentoring. Too often, the responsibility of acclimating new
teachers (to the campus) falls to the assistant principal, creating a
disconnect between the principal and his newest/most impressionable
employees. The principal must set aside time regularly (weekly is
ideal) to debrief and interact with new teachers. Time with new
teachers is far too critical for a principal to delegate, and should
remain a priority on a principal’s agenda for the entire academic year.

Test Preparation

On average, 34% of teachers enter the profession without the

benefit of full certification (NEA, 2007). A recent National Center for
Education Statistics report found that 49 percent of uncertified entrants
left within five years, compared with only 14 percent of certified
entrants (Darling-Hammond, 2003). While many test preparation
programs exist to prepare teachers for state examinations, many of the
programs can be costly, and in some cases, only moderately
successful. Hard-to-staff campuses would create a win-win situation
by compensating campus based teacher leaders to tutor new teachers
 Misti M. Morgan & William A. Kritsonis 57

for certification exams; new teachers could gain relevant information

at no additional cost, and schools would increase their number of
certified teachers and the teacher’s commitment to the school.

Beyond the First Day

How to Keep Quality Teachers

Money

High-poverty schools suffer higher rates of attrition for many

reasons. Salary plays a part: Teachers in schools serving the largest
concentrations of low-income students earn, at the top of the scale,
one-third less than those in higher-income schools (Darling-
Hammond, 2003). Hard-to-staff campuses should establish an
incentive pay structure that rewards new teachers with a graduated
sum of money for each year that they elect to return to the campus.
Retention pay would extend up to five years, as research indicates that
most teachers permanently commit to the profession after four to five
years.

Insist on Involvement

Teachers must sponsor or co-sponsor at least one student-

centered activity or participate in at least one campus based committee
their first year. Also, new teachers should be strongly encouraged to
attend student-centered events, such as football games and school
dances. Teacher presence at student-centered events communicates to
students and parents that teachers are genuinely interested and
supportive of student pursuits outside of the classroom. This in turn
creates a more positive rapport between teachers and students in the
classroom, as students are more likely to see the teachers as an
individual who cares about their well-being.
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Opportunities for Growth

Teachers should seek opportunities for relevant professional

development and growth outside of the campus, and principals should
allocate monies for their pursuits. As a goal, principals should
encourage teachers to gain additional endorsements to increase their
certification, and when possible, pay for teachers to take the classes
needed to attain additional licensures.

Concluding Remarks

In a hard-to-staff school, principals must be sensitive to the

need for quality, new teachers and aware of the difficulties they will
face in finding them. The success of the new teacher is inextricably
linked to the success of students, and if student achievement is a
priority, then new teacher development must be a priority as well.
School systems can create a magnetic effect when they make it clear
that they are committed to finding, keeping, and supporting good
teachers. In urban centers, just as in suburban and rural areas, good
teachers gravitate to schools where they know they will be appreciated
and supported in their work (Darling-Hammond, 2003). Further, when
prioritizing, principals must allocate time and funding to support their
priorities. It is not enough to say that new teachers are important –
sufficient monies must exist in the budget to support the initiative. A
principal’s commitment to the development of new teachers can
ensure perpetuity and ultimate progress within a hard-to-staff school.
 Misti M. Morgan & William A. Kritsonis 59

REFERENCES

Allen, M., & Education Commission of the States, D. (1999, August

1). Teacher recruitment, preparation and retention for hard-
to-staff schools. (ERICDocument Reproduction Service No.
ED440948) Retrieved October 19, 2007, from ERIC database.
National Education Association/NEA (2007, n.d.). Take a look at
today’s teachers. Retrieved November 6, 2007, from National
Education Association Website:
http://www.nea.org/edstats/07todaysteachers.html
Loeb, S., Darling-Hammond, L., & Luczak, J. (2005). How teaching
conditions predict teacher turnover in california schools.
Peabody Journal of Education, 80(3), 44-70. Retrieved
January 27, 2008, from Academic Search Complete database.
Darling-Hammond, L. (2003, May). Keeping Good Teachers.
Educational Leadership, 60(8), 6. Retrieved January 24, 2008,
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Russell, A. (2006, October). Teacher induction programs: trends and
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